Welcome to the National Capacity Building Project's latest issue of our Survivors of Torture Health Awareness newsletter. January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention month.
The U.S. State Department compares human trafficking to modern day slavery, and in this fact sheet, describes how trafficking differs from human smuggling, which involves the transportation of a person across an international border. A person being smuggled most often gives her consent, whereas a person who is trafficked is being criminally exploited. According to the Polaris Project, labor trafficking and sex trafficking occur when people are forced to work or engage in commercial sex against their will and are controlled through violence, threats, lies, debt bondage, and coercion.
Victims of trafficking are often tortured, as is highlighted in this Human Rights Watch report on this situation in the Sinai Peninsula, and conversely, survivors of torture are often trafficked when they attempt to flee their abusive governments. If you start to recognize signs that a client might be trapped in a trafficking situation, call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline at 1-888-373-7888 to report the situation or ask for help.
Survivors of trafficking may be eligible for legal relief in the form of a T Visa or a U Visa. Please contact your local legal aid organization for more information.
|
